US20240076326A1 - Flavor modifying proteins and food products comprising the same - Google Patents

Flavor modifying proteins and food products comprising the same Download PDF

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Publication number
US20240076326A1
US20240076326A1 US18/268,921 US202118268921A US2024076326A1 US 20240076326 A1 US20240076326 A1 US 20240076326A1 US 202118268921 A US202118268921 A US 202118268921A US 2024076326 A1 US2024076326 A1 US 2024076326A1
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Prior art keywords
protein
mnei
seq
beverage
sugar
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Inventor
Ilan Samish
Itamar Kass
Dalit HECHT
Shmuel Marko
Inbar ZUKER
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Amai Proteins Ltd
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Amai Proteins Ltd
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Assigned to AMAI PROTEINS LTD reassignment AMAI PROTEINS LTD ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HECHT, Dalit, KASS, Itamar, MARKO, SHMUEL, SAMISH, ILAN, ZUKER, Inbar
Publication of US20240076326A1 publication Critical patent/US20240076326A1/en
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K14/00—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
    • C07K14/415—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from plants
    • C07K14/43—Sweetening agents, e.g. thaumatin, monellin
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23F—COFFEE; TEA; THEIR SUBSTITUTES; MANUFACTURE, PREPARATION, OR INFUSION THEREOF
    • A23F3/00—Tea; Tea substitutes; Preparations thereof
    • A23F3/40—Tea flavour; Tea oil; Flavouring of tea or tea extract
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
    • A23G1/00—Cocoa; Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
    • A23G1/30—Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
    • A23G1/32—Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds
    • A23G1/44—Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds containing peptides or proteins
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
    • A23G3/00—Sweetmeats; Confectionery; Marzipan; Coated or filled products
    • A23G3/34—Sweetmeats, confectionery or marzipan; Processes for the preparation thereof
    • A23G3/36—Sweetmeats, confectionery or marzipan; Processes for the preparation thereof characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds
    • A23G3/44—Sweetmeats, confectionery or marzipan; Processes for the preparation thereof characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds containing peptides or proteins
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
    • A23G4/00—Chewing gum
    • A23G4/06—Chewing gum characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds
    • A23G4/14—Chewing gum characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds containing peptides or proteins
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
    • A23G9/00—Frozen sweets, e.g. ice confectionery, ice-cream; Mixtures therefor
    • A23G9/32—Frozen sweets, e.g. ice confectionery, ice-cream; Mixtures therefor characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds
    • A23G9/38—Frozen sweets, e.g. ice confectionery, ice-cream; Mixtures therefor characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds containing peptides or proteins
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L19/00—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L19/03—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof consisting of whole pieces or fragments without mashing the original pieces
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L19/00—Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L19/09—Mashed or comminuted products, e.g. pulp, purée, sauce, or products made therefrom, e.g. snacks
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L2/52—Adding ingredients
    • A23L2/60—Sweeteners
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L2/52—Adding ingredients
    • A23L2/66—Proteins
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L25/00—Food consisting mainly of nutmeat or seeds; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L25/10—Peanut butter
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L27/00—Spices; Flavouring agents or condiments; Artificial sweetening agents; Table salts; Dietetic salt substitutes; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L27/30—Artificial sweetening agents
    • A23L27/31—Artificial sweetening agents containing amino acids, nucleotides, peptides or derivatives
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L27/00—Spices; Flavouring agents or condiments; Artificial sweetening agents; Table salts; Dietetic salt substitutes; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L27/60—Salad dressings; Mayonnaise; Ketchup
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
    • A23L29/00—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L29/20—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof containing gelling or thickening agents
    • A23L29/206—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof containing gelling or thickening agents of vegetable origin
    • A23L29/262—Cellulose; Derivatives thereof, e.g. ethers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to flavor modifying proteins and to formulations and food products comprising the same.
  • the flavor modifying proteins may be provided in various formulations for animal feed and human consumption.
  • HIS Artificial high-intensity sweeteners
  • Saccharin Aspartame, Cyclamate
  • Acesulfame K Sucralose
  • Neotame and Advantame are used worldwide as low-calorie sweeteners for patients suffering from sugar-related illnesses such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, etc.
  • HIS have various side effects, e.g., these zero-calorie sweeteners have been reported to interact with the microbiome and cause obesity and a pre-diabetic condition (Suez et al., 2014, Nature volume 514, pages 181-186), even if to a lesser extent than sugar.
  • the American Heart Association published an advisory against HIS, claiming that there is “a dearth of evidence for adverse health effects” (Johnson et al., 2018, Circulation, Vol. 138, No. 9). In this advisory, all HIS, natural (steviol glycosides and monk fruit) and artificial, were put under the same scrutiny.
  • low-intensity sweeteners namely rare sugars and polyols (e.g., xylitol, mannitol, allulose, etc.)
  • LIS low-intensity sweeteners
  • polyols e.g., xylitol, mannitol, allulose, etc.
  • sugar substitute that enables significant (>30%) sugar reduction and fully addresses taste, health, cost, and product fitness.
  • Sweet proteins have the potential to replace HIS by providing natural, palatable, low-calorie sweeteners with no glycemic index since proteins do not induce an insulin response, unlike sucrose (Weihrauch 2001 and Cohen 2001). SPs are found in exotic fruits and are 700-3,000 times sweeter than sugar. These healthy sweeteners bind to sweet receptors like sugar but are digested as proteins. They are expected to have a zero glycemic index, ⁇ 0 calories, and no adverse effects on our health or microbiome. Thaumatin is currently the only globally approved sweet protein in the market. Due to high price, limited supply, and suboptimal sensory profile, SPs are not generally used as a significant (>30%) sugar-reduction solution.
  • GB2123672 describes sweet proteins, such as Thaumatin and Monellin, and an incorporated weakly acidic polysaccharide gum, optionally together with a food acid or bulking agent, in various beverages, mouthwashes, or as a pharmaceutical base.
  • WO8402450 describes the application of Thaumatin or Monellin to the surface of a chewing gum composition comprising gum base, sweetener, and flavoring.
  • WO2019215730 discloses modified proteins with improved food-related properties.
  • the present disclosure provides a modified version of a single-chain Monellin (MNEI) protein comprising an amino acid sequence that has two or more amino acids deletions, insertions, replacements, or any combination thereof from an MNEI reference protein, wherein the modified MNEI protein has at least one improved food-related property compared to the reference MNEI protein.
  • MNEI single-chain Monellin
  • the present disclosure provides a food product comprising a modified MNEI protein comprising an amino acid sequence that has two or more amino acids deletions, insertions, replacements, or any combination thereof from an MNEI reference protein, wherein the modified MNEI protein has at least one improved food-related property compared to the reference MNEI protein.
  • the modified protein comprises at least three amino acid deletions, insertions, replacements, or any combination thereof from the reference MNEI protein.
  • the two or more amino acid deletions, insertions, replacements, or any combination thereof are located on the reference MNEI protein's surface or in the reference MNEI protein's core. According to some embodiments, the two or more amino acid deletions, insertions, replacements, or any combination thereof, are located within the modified MNEI loop (also termed ‘linker region’), and beta-strand edges. According to some embodiments, the two or more amino acid deletions, insertions, replacements, or any combination thereof, are located within the modified MNEI loop and beta-strand edges spanning residues 46-56.
  • said amino acid deletions, substitutions replacements, grafting, or any combinations thereof stabilizing a loop region by at least one of (i) adding at least one hydrogen bond, (ii) extending the beta strands holding the loop region, (iii) decreasing the relative Debye-Waller factors at the loop region, or (iv) any combination thereof.
  • said stabilizing is associated with at least one of (i) decreases aggregation, (ii) increases melting temperature (iii) increases shelf-life stability or (iv) any combination thereof.
  • the modified MNEI protein has energy lower than ⁇ 182 given in Rosetta Energy Unit (REU).
  • REU Rosetta Energy Unit
  • the at least one food-related property is at least one of sweetness potency, sweetness kinetics, masking effect, enhancing taste, off-taste or any combination thereof.
  • the modified MNEI protein has at least 1.5-fold increased sweetness potency compared to the reference MNEI protein.
  • the modified MNEI protein is characterized by at least one of the following, compared to the reference MNEI protein: (1) increased thermal stability, (2) increased pH stability, (3) increased solubility, (4) decreased binding to hydrophobic regions, (5) high pressure stability, (6) increased shelf-life stability, and any combination thereof.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, SEQ ID NO:8, SEQ ID NO:9, SEQ ID NO:10, SEQ ID NO:11, SEQ ID NO:12, SEQ ID NO:13, SEQ ID NO:14, SEQ ID NO:15, SEQ ID NO:16, SEQ ID NO:17, SEQ ID NO:18, SEQ ID NO:19, SEQ ID NO:20 and SEQ ID NO:21, or of a fragment or variant thereof.
  • the reference MNEI protein has the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:45.
  • the modified MNEI protein or any combination thereof is used in the preparation of a product for oral delivery.
  • the product is a food product, a food supplementary product, or a medicament.
  • the modified MNEI protein or any combination thereof is used as a flavor modifying or a flavor-enhancing agent.
  • the modified MNEI protein is used as a sweetener.
  • the present disclosure provides a food product comprising the modified protein of the present invention.
  • the food product comprises at least one food ingredient.
  • the food ingredient is at least one of artificial flavor, food additive, food coloring, preservative, or sugar additive.
  • the food ingredient is selected from the group consisting of stevia, sucrose, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, date sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, monk fruit, sugar alcohols, rare sugars, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, neotame, advantame, and dietary fibers.
  • said stevia is a rebaudioside or steviol glycoside.
  • said rebaudioside is RebM.
  • RebM Reygyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl-N
  • the present disclosure provides a sweetening composition comprising the modified MNEI protein of the present invention.
  • the present disclosure provides an ingestible composition comprising said sweetening composition.
  • the ingestible composition has low glycemic effects and is in the form of liquid or solid foodstuffs.
  • the present invention provides specific food and beverage formulations with improved food or beverage-related properties.
  • the present disclosure provides food or beverage formulations comprising one or more modified single-chain Monellin (MNEI) proteins in the range of about 0.2 mg to about 30 mg per 100 gr or 100 ml. According to some embodiments, the range is about 0.4 mg to about 10 mg per 100 gr or 100 ml.
  • MNEI modified single-chain Monellin
  • said formulation has a pH in the range of about 2 to about 8.5.
  • said modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence having 40% to 99% identity with a reference MNEI protein comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:45.
  • the modified MNEI comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-27 or a fragment or variant thereof.
  • the modified MNEI protein is a digestible protein.
  • the present invention provides a food or beverage composition formulated for consumption by a human subject, the composition comprising said formulation.
  • the beverage composition is selected from the group consisting of a carbonated soft drink, a non-carbonated soft drink, a fountain beverage, a frozen ready-to-drink beverage, a coffee beverage, a tea beverage, a dairy beverage, a fruit beverage, a flavored water, an enhanced water, a sport drink, an energy drink, an isotonic drink, low-calorie drink, and an alcoholic beverage.
  • the food compositions are selected from the group consisting of baked goods, cookies, biscuits, baking mixes, cereals, confectioneries, candies, toffees, chewing gum, dairy products, yogurts, flavored yogurts, soy sauce and other soy-based products, nondairy products, salad dressings, ketchup, mayonnaise, vinegar, frozen-desserts, meat products, fish products, bottled and canned foods, tabletop sweeteners, chocolate, fruits, dry fruits, and vegetables.
  • said composition has at least one improved food or beverage-related property compared to a food or beverage composition with the reference MNEI protein.
  • the at least one improved food or beverage related property is selected from the group consisting of improved sweetness profile, shortened sweet taste lingering, improved sweetness potency, improved sweetness kinetics, increased thermal stability, high pressure stability, increased pH stability, decreased binding to hydrophobic regions, improved freeze-thaw stability, improved reconstitutability after drying, increased solubility, a sensory profile that is closer to that of sugar, and increased shelf-life stability.
  • the food or beverage composition comprising at least one additional food ingredient.
  • the food ingredient is at least one of flavor, food additive, food coloring, preservative, or sweetness enhancer.
  • the food ingredient is selected from the group consisting of stevia, sucrose, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, date sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, steviol glycosides, monk fruit, sugar alcohols, rare sugars, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, neotame, advantame, and dietary fibers.
  • the rare sugars are allulose or tagatose.
  • the food or beverage composition has low glycemic effects.
  • the carbonated soft drink is selected from the group consisting of cola, lemon-lime flavored sparkling beverage, orange-flavored sparkling beverage, grapefruit-flavored sparkling beverage, grape-flavored sparkling beverage, raspberry-flavored sparkling beverage, strawberry-flavored sparkling beverage, pineapple-flavored sparkling beverage, ginger-ale, root beer, and malt beverage.
  • the non-carbonated soft drink is selected from the group consisting of fruit juice, fruit-flavored juice, juice drink, nectar, vegetable juice, vegetable-flavored juice, sports drink, energy drink, protein drink, enhanced water with vitamins, near water drink, coconut water, tea, coffee, cocoa drink, beverages containing milk components, beverages containing cereals extract, and smoothies.
  • the formulation is used in preparing a product for oral delivery.
  • the product is a food or beverage product, a dietary supplement product, or a medicament.
  • the present disclosure provides a food or beverage product comprising the formulation of the present invention.
  • the present disclosure provides a reduced sugar or no-sugar added soft drink beverage comprising said formulation.
  • the present disclosure provides a reduced sugar or no-sugar added dairy product comprising said formulation.
  • said dairy product is yogurt or malabi.
  • the present disclosure provides a reduced sugar or no-sugar added sauce product comprising said formulation.
  • said sauce is ketchup.
  • the present disclosure provides a reduced sugar or no-sugar added dried fruits comprising said formulation.
  • said dried fruits are selected from the group consisting of cranberries, raisins. blueberries, prunes, cherries, apples, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, figs, bananas, dates, currants, and apricots.
  • said dried fruits is fruit leather.
  • the present disclosure provides a reduced sugar or no-sugar added gum product comprising said formulation.
  • said gum product is chewing gum or bubble gum product.
  • the present disclosure provides a reduced sugar or no-sugar added spread product comprising said formulation.
  • said spread product is peanut butter.
  • the present disclosure provides a reduced sugar or no-sugar added syrup product comprising said formulation.
  • FIG. 1 is a histogram showing the relative sweetness of MNEI and MNEI modified proteins sweetness was evaluated at 6° Bx based on the potency of 1:4000, diluted in water, relative to DM09.
  • FIGS. 2 A- 2 D are graphs showing a dose-response of sweetness intensity of MNEI ( FIG. 2 A ), DM13 ( FIG. 2 B ), DM28 ( FIG. 2 C ), and DM31( FIG. 2 D ).
  • FIG. 3 is a histogram showing the stability of DM13 in a citrate buffer after heating to 90° C. up to 10 minutes.
  • Y-axis is sweetness intensity.
  • FIG. 4 is a histogram showing the stability of DM13 in a citrate buffer after heating to 95° C. for 30 seconds.
  • Y-axis is sweetness intensity.
  • FIGS. 5 A- 5 B are histograms showing the stability of DM13 after 8 weeks stored at 21° C. and 32° C.
  • Y-axis is sweetness intensity.
  • FIG. 6 is a spider graph showing properties of a control ketchup prototype with a 69% reduction of added sugar and of an exemplary ketchup with DM09, the results showing that the control ketchup is less sweet, sourer, saltier, and has more tongue tingling compared to the ketchup with DM09.
  • FIG. 7 is a spider graph showing that a ketchup prototype with a 69% reduction of added sugar is less sweet, sourer, and has a lighter color compared to ketchup with full sugar.
  • FIG. 8 is a spider graph showing that a ketchup prototype with DM09 (69% reduction of added sugar) has a very similar sensory profile to that of full sugar ketchup.
  • FIG. 9 is a spider graph showing that a ketchup with DM28 has a similar sensory profile compared to ketchup with DM09.
  • FIG. 10 is a spider graph showing that after one month of shelf life, ketchup with DM09 does not lose its sweetness.
  • the changes that occur to the product are typical for ketchup following a shelf life of 1 month (darker color, more seasoned, more sour, thicker, and less smooth texture).
  • FIG. 11 is a spider graph showing that plain yogurt with a 33% reduction of added sugar is less sweet than plain yogurt with DM09 and a 33% reduction of added sugar.
  • FIG. 12 is a spider graph showing that plain yogurt with DM09 (33% reduction of added sugar) has a similar sensory profile to a full sugar yogurt.
  • FIG. 13 is a spider graph showing that strawberry yogurt with DM28 has a similar sensory profile to strawberry yogurt with DM09.
  • FIG. 14 is a spider graph showing that after two weeks of shelf life, plain yogurt with DM09 has a similar sensory profile to fresh plain yogurt with DM09.
  • FIG. 15 is a spider graph showing that a water solution with stevia and DM09 is sweeter than a water solution with stevia alone, at the same sweetness level equivalent.
  • FIG. 16 is a spider graph showing that a water solution with a combination of Monk fruit, stevia, and DM09 is sweeter, with shorter “late onset” compared to a water solution with Monk fruit and stevia alone, in the same sweetness level equivalent.
  • FIG. 17 is a spider graph showing that a lemon-flavored drink (50% sugar reduction with Stevia, 5° Bx equivalent) has a very similar sensory profile to Stevia and DM09 (2.5° Bx equivalent each).
  • FIG. 18 is a spider graph showing that ketchup with DM031 (69% reduction of added sugar) has a very similar sensory profile to that of ketchup with DM09.
  • FIG. 19 is a spider graph showing that strawberry yogurt with DM31 has a similar sensory profile to strawberry yogurt with DM09.
  • FIG. 20 is a spider graph showing that chewing gum with DM09 is sweeter than chewing gum without DM09 after 30 seconds of chewing.
  • FIG. 21 is a spider graph showing that peanut butter with DM09 and a 50% sugar reduction has a similar sensory profile to that of full sugar peanut butter.
  • FIG. 22 is a spider graph showing that iced coffee with DM09 (70% sugar reduction) is sweeter than iced coffee without DM09 (70% sugar reduction).
  • FIG. 23 is a spider graph showing that cranberry juice (40% sugar reduction, stevia, and DM09) has a similar sensory profile to full sugar cranberry juice.
  • FIG. 24 is a spider graph showing that cranberry juice with DM28 is sweeter than cranberry juice with DM09.
  • FIG. 25 is a spider graph showing that cranberry juice with 40% sugar reduction, stevia, and DM31 has a similar sensory profile to cranberry juice with 40% sugar reduction, stevia, and DM09).
  • FIG. 26 is a spider graph showing that dried cranberries (50% sugar reduction and DM09) are sweeter than dried cranberries without DM09 (50% sugar reduction).
  • FIG. 27 is a spider graph showing that peach leather with DM09 is sweeter than peach leather without DM09.
  • FIG. 28 is a spider graph showing that green iced tea with 40% added sugar reduction+DM09 and stevia is sweeter compared to green iced tea with 40% added sugar reduction without DM09 and stevia.
  • FIG. 29 is a spider graph showing that Malabi with 50% added sugar reduction +DM31 is sweeter compared to Malabi with 50% added sugar reduction without DM31.
  • FIGS. 30 A-B are crystal structure images highlighting the changes that were made in DM31.
  • FIG. 30 A shows alignment of the crystal structure of DM31 (black) with a crystal structure of MNEI (PDB ID: 2o9u) (white).
  • the smaller panels in FIG. 30 A zoom-in on selected amino acid changes in DM31, as well as on a loop that was redesigned. The redesigned loop led to increased stability, as well as to new hydrogen bonds and two elongated beta-strands nearby ( FIG. 30 A , lower right-most panel).
  • FIG. 30 B shows the superposition of the same loop region of DM31 with additional MNEI structures available in the public database. DM31 is marked in black.
  • FIGS. 31 A- 31 B are histograms showing the normalized B-factors for a few MNEI structures (2o9u, liv7, 5zlp), DM09, and DM31.
  • Backbone B-factors were first normalized separately for each structure using Z-score normalization.
  • B-factors are shown as averages for different secondary structure elements ( FIG. 31 A ), as well as for specific residues (E48 to E54, numbered according to the sequence of MNEI) that are part of the redesigned loop regions ( FIG. 31 B ).
  • FIGS. 32 A- 32 C show stabilizing hydrogen bonds in the crystal structures of MNEI ( FIG. 32 A ), DM09 ( FIG. 32 B ), and DM31 ( FIG. 32 C ).
  • the redesigned loop region is highlighted with a black frame.
  • FIGS. 33 A- 33 B show the loop region in the crystal structure on DM31 ( FIG. 33 A ), compared to a classical definition of a beta-turn ( FIG. 33 B ).
  • the loop structure of DM31 ( FIG. 33 A ) matches schematic definition shown in FIG. 33 B .
  • FIGS. 34 A- 34 B are images of 16% SDS PAGE Tricine protein gels and stained with Coomassie blue, of 1 ug of in vitro digested samples before digestion (T0), at the end of oral phase (3 min, M), at the end of gastric digestion phase (2 hr, G), and at the end of the intestinal duodenal phase (2 hr, D),
  • FIG. 34 B shows an image of ⁇ -lactalbumin used as positive control, M, G and D as detailed in connection with FIG. 34 A .
  • Artificial low-calorie sweeteners are readily available in the market, yet many have significant side effects. For example, saccharin, widely used to sweeten foods and beverages without added calories or carbohydrates, has been linked to cancers such as bladder cancer. Thus, there is a significant need for replacements of the currently available artificial low-calorie sweeteners that will provide both an optimal sensory profile and be suitable for use in food products and beverages.
  • the present disclosure relates to MNEI based sweet proteins and MNEI taste modifying proteins and is based on identification of proteins that exhibit improved properties relative to known sweeteners. Such proteins were identified by optimization methods, for example, various computational methods.
  • the inventors have found that introducing various specific deletions, or substitutions in an amino acid sequence of MNEI (denoted herein as “reference protein”) resulted in a protein having at least one improved property compared to the reference MNEI protein. It was suggested that the at least one improved property of the protein might be significant in the fitness and use of the modified MNEI protein in food and beverage applications.
  • the proteins (denoted herein as “modified protein” or “designer protein”) exhibited an improved sensory profile and/or stability as compared to their reference protein.
  • the sensory profile as described herein, relates to a taste profile (e.g., sweetness potency, aftertaste, and lingering).
  • the present disclosure in its broadest aspect, relates to a modified MNEI protein comprising an amino acid sequence that has at least two amino acid deletions, replacements (substitutions) and/or insertions as compared with a sequence of a reference MNEI protein, wherein the modified protein has at least one improved food-related property as compared with the reference MNEI protein.
  • the at least one improved food-related property encompasses a property that increases the modified protein's fitness in food and beverage applications, such as flavor, texture, taste, sweetness threshold, sweetness level, sweetness profile, sensory profile, sweetness kinetics, stability (structural and functional), heat resistance, fitness to a food matrix, shelf-life, masking and/or enhancement of other flavors, off-taste, taste onset, lingering taste, taste roundness, or sugar-like taste.
  • the at least one food-related property is a sensory-affecting property.
  • the term “sensory-affecting property,” as used herein, refers to a change in the sensory impression as determined, for example, by taste.
  • the sensory-affecting property includes, for example, sweetness profiles such as sweetness potency (sugar-like flavor), sweetness kinetics (onset time, lingering time, taste duration), lack of off-taste (e.g., metallic taste), and masking or enhancing other tastes.
  • sweetness profiles such as sweetness potency (sugar-like flavor), sweetness kinetics (onset time, lingering time, taste duration), lack of off-taste (e.g., metallic taste), and masking or enhancing other tastes.
  • an improved property relates to increased sweetness, reduced onset time, or reduced lingering taste.
  • the modified protein may be considered a sugar substitute.
  • the at least one food-related property is at least one of sweetness potency, reduced onset time, or reduced lingering taste.
  • the at least one food-related property is stability.
  • the stability is at least one of thermal stability, longer shelf-life, stability to low-pH, salt concentration stability, ionic strength stability, or stability in a fat-containing or protein-containing matrix.
  • the at least one food-related property is thermal stability.
  • the at least one food-related property is increased shelf-life stability.
  • the modified protein may be stable for at least a week, two weeks, a month, and even over a year.
  • shelf-life stability is tasted by differential scanning calorimetry, differential scanning fluorometry, circular dichroism and sensory analysis.
  • the food taste is maintained, and the protein is intact.
  • the modified MNEI protein may be used in combination with at least one additional food ingredient.
  • the at least one food-related property may refer to a synergistic effect between the modified MNEI protein and at least one food ingredient.
  • said synergistic effect may affect taste enhancement, taste blocking, or taste modification.
  • food ingredients include artificial or natural flavors, food additives, food coloring, preservatives, bulking agents, or additional sugar additives.
  • the food ingredient may have masking or enhancing taste effects.
  • the reference protein is a taste modifying protein and/or a taste enhancer protein and/or a taste protein and specifically a sweet protein.
  • a taste modifying protein improves the sensory profile, e.g., may add a sweet taste to a non-sweet substance, for example, water and sour substances.
  • a tasty protein as used herein, is known to bind taste receptors and evoke a taste sensation.
  • a sweet protein as used herein, is known to bind the sweet receptor and evoke a sensation of sweetness.
  • Non-limiting examples of a sweet receptor include Taste receptor heterodimer made of two subunits such as type 1 member 1 (TAS1R1, Uniprot ID for human gene: TS1R1_HUMAN), Taste receptor type 1 member 2 (TAS1R2, T1R2, TR2, UniProt-Q8TE23), Taste receptor type 1 member 3 (TAS1R3, T1R3, UniProt-Q7RTX0).
  • type 1 member 1 TAS1R1, Uniprot ID for human gene: TS1R1_HUMAN
  • taste receptor type 1 member 2 T1R2, TR2, UniProt-Q8TE23
  • taste receptor type 1 member 3 TS1R3, T1R3, UniProt-Q7RTX0.
  • the reference protein is a naturally occurring protein. In some other embodiments, the reference protein is found in plants, such as tropical plants. Non-limiting examples of plants include at least one of capparis masaikai, vid, serendipity berry, katemfe, miracle fruit berry, or lemba.
  • the reference protein is Monellin.
  • the reference protein is Monellin made of chain A (GenBank Entry No. P02881) and chain B (GenBank Entry No. P02882).
  • the reference protein is MNEI.
  • MNEI The main difference between wild-type Monellin and MNEI is a region in which a Gly-Phe dipeptide was used to connect the two subunits into a single-chain Monellin termed MNEI.
  • the reference protein is a sequence not found in nature and is thus called a synthetic protein, or an engineered protein or a designer protein.
  • the synthetic protein may comprise the entirety or part of the amino acid sequence of the naturally occurring protein (all or part of the protein's polypeptide chains) or part thereof.
  • the reference protein may comprise a bond modification of a naturally occurring protein, resulting in a single polypeptide chain that corresponds to a naturally occurring protein, such that the at least two polypeptide chains of the wild-type protein are covalently attached by other amino acids.
  • the reference protein is a modified Monellin protein known as MNEI.
  • the reference protein is a single chain Monellin (MNEI) protein (SEQ ID NO:45).
  • MNEI amino-acid numbers referred to herein are in accordance with Protein Databank (PDB) ID 2o9u.
  • modified proteins described herein can be designed by various methods.
  • protein design is done using computational tools or by expert protein design and structural biology methods, e.g., site-directed mutagenesis, protein engineering, or directed evolution, as further described below.
  • the inventors have developed computational methodologies based on sequence data, structural data, and/or evolutionary data of the reference flavor proteins and other proteins that have local or global similarities to the reference flavor protein in sequence and/or structural features.
  • the computational methods developed and applied herein enabled the inventors to design proteins with specific amino acid substitutions that are energetically favorable and thus are predicted to have improved traits such as thermostability, halostability, pH-stability, shelf-life, folding, and solubility features.
  • CPD Computational Protein Design
  • non-ideal amino acids such as hydrophilic amino acids within a hydrophobic core or hydrophobic amino acids on the external surface region
  • ideal amino acids such as hydrophilic amino acids in the external surface region and hydrophobic amino acids within a hydrophobic core
  • the methodologies developed herein comprise searching for “stabilizing substitutions,” e.g., amino acid substitutions that will decrease the protein structure's overall energy.
  • the overall energy may be calculated by applying known algorithms in the art. Non-limiting examples of such algorithms include Rosetta, OSPREY (M. Hallen, J. Martin, et al., Journal of Computational Chemistry 2018; 39 (30): 2494-2507), or EnCoM (Frappier V, Chartier M, Najmanovich R J. Nucleic Acids Res. 2015;43 (W1): W395-400).
  • CPD methods undergo focusing and filtering by an array of orthogonal methods such as evolutionary sequence and structural consensus, regular and high-temperature molecular dynamics (MD) and other dynamic simulations, correlated mutational analysis (CMA), surface electrostatics analysis, visual inspection, as well as analysis of cavities, hydrophobic patches, unsatisfied hydrogen bonds and alike.
  • orthogonal methods such as evolutionary sequence and structural consensus, regular and high-temperature molecular dynamics (MD) and other dynamic simulations, correlated mutational analysis (CMA), surface electrostatics analysis, visual inspection, as well as analysis of cavities, hydrophobic patches, unsatisfied hydrogen bonds and alike.
  • the amino acid substitutions are based on the following considerations: (a) surface electrostatic potential and (lack of) hydrophobic patches on the surface, (b) retention of the protein's isoelectric point (pI) in a specific range, (c) analysis of the intra-protein cavities, (d) dynamic stability including correlated mutational analysis, normal mode analysis, and root mean square fluctuations (RMSF) in high-temperature or room temperature dynamics, (e) entropic and/or enthalpic components of the substitution energetics, (f) visualization of the specific substitution, (g) types of amino-acids permitted in the family of related proteins; as reflected by an evolutionary conservation analysis of a curated multiple sequence alignment (MSA), and (h) frequency of the substitution as reflected in low-pseudo-energy CPD calculations.
  • MSA curated multiple sequence alignment
  • the computational methodologies include one or more of the following steps:
  • MSA Multiple Sequence Alignment
  • MSA Multiple Structural Alignment
  • DNA sequences and/or protein sequences with similarity to the target reference protein or fragments thereof are queried in public databases.
  • MSA multiple-sequence alignment
  • MSA results a decision regarding the level of CPD to be conducted is made. In non-conserved positions, all amino acids (with or without Cysteine) are allowed in CPD, whereas for more conserved positions, the CPD is limited to residues with similar properties (charge, size, internal dynamics, etc.).
  • This step involves limiting the substitutions in each position based on biophysical knowledge and conservation data.
  • the MSA may yield a Position Specific Substitution Matrix (PS SM) in which each location along the sequence is described in a way correlated with the relative abundance of each amino acid possibly taking into account a potential probability of substitution or of deletion or insertion of amino acids.
  • PS SM Position Specific Substitution Matrix
  • CPD CPD
  • This step is partially done by designated software such as ROSETTA, OSPREY, SCWRL, PyMol, AlphaFold and alike.
  • the CPD may include site-directed amino-acid replacement where one amino-acid is replaced by another or replacement of protein regions by other amino-acid sequences such resulting in a protein with the different length.
  • the latter can be done by rebuilding regions such as loop by ab initio methods or by taking regions from other proteins, a method that may be referred to as ‘grafting’.
  • grafting For each reference protein, multiple models are considered.
  • CPD CPD-derived neuropeptide
  • the modified MNEI protein is based on the reference MNEI protein (amino acid sequence) and, as such, it should be noted that any feature/property/characterization described herein with respect to the modified MNEI protein is provided relative to the reference corresponding MNEI protein.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least two, at least three, at least four, at least five, at least six, at least ten, at least fifteen, or at least eighteen amino acid substitutions, deletions, or insertions relative to a reference MNEI protein (reference amino acid sequence).
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises between two and twenty amino acid substitutions, deletions, or insertions relative to a reference MNEI protein (reference amino acid sequence), between two and ten amino acid substitutions, between three and ten amino acid substitutions, between three and six amino acid substitutions. Ranges used herein are inclusive of the range limits, such that for example, between three and six includes 3, 4, 5, and 6.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises at least two, at least three, at least four, at least five, at least six, at least ten, at least fifteen, or at least eighteen amino acid substitutions, deletions, or insertions relative to a reference MNEI protein having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:45.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 40% to 98% identical to an amino acid sequence of the reference MNEI protein. In some embodiments, the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 90% to 98% identical to the reference amino acid sequence.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 60% to 90% identical to the reference amino acid sequence. In some embodiments, the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 70% to 90% identical to the reference amino acid sequence.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or at least 98% identity the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:45.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence having 90% to 98% identity the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:45.
  • % identity between two or more amino acid sequences is determined when the two or more sequences are compared and aligned for maximum correspondence.
  • sequences (amino acid) as described herein having % identity are considered to have the same function/activity as the reference sequence to which identity is calculated.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 40% to 98%, similar to an amino acid sequence of the reference MNEI protein. In some embodiments, the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 90% to 98% similarity to the reference amino acid sequence.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 60% to 90% similarity to the reference amino acid sequence. In some embodiments, the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence 70% to 90% similar to the reference amino acid sequence.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or at least 98% similarity with the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:45.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises an amino acid sequence having 90% to 98% similarity with the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:45.
  • the modified MNEI protein comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in one of SEQ ID NOs: 1-21, a variant thereof, or a fragment of the foregoing.
  • the modified MNEI protein may comprise the amino acid sequence set forth in one of SEQ ID NO: 1, 4, 16, 19, or 24, a variant thereof, or a fragment of the foregoing.
  • the modified MNEI protein may also comprise a sequence at least 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, or 99% identical to one of SEQ ID NOs: 1-21, particularly one of SEQ ID NOs: 1, 4, 16, 19, or 24.
  • Sequence similarity or sequence homology as used herein refers to the amount (%) of amino acids that are conserved with similar physicochemical properties, e.g., leucine and isoleucine.
  • sequence identity gaps are not counted and sequence identity is relative to the shorter sequence of the two.
  • the length of the reference MNEI protein (amino acid sequence) may be the same as the modified MNEI protein (amino acid sequence) or may be different from the modified MNEI protein (amino acid sequence).
  • amino acid sequence and/or “polypeptide chain” are used to describe a protein having an amino acid sequence or polypeptide chain.
  • reference protein is equivalent to the term “reference amino acid sequence”
  • modified protein is equivalent to the term “modified amino acid sequence.”
  • amino acid sequence and/or “polypeptide chain” encompass sequences having a 3D structure as well as sequences with no 3D structure.
  • fragment as used herein in connection with the disclosure relates to proteins or peptides derived from full-length proteins that are shortened, i.e., lacking at least one amino acid. Such fragments may include at least 10, more such as 20, or 30 or more consecutive amino acids of the protein's primary sequence.
  • variants relate to derivatives of a protein or peptide that include modifications of the amino acid sequence, for example, by substitution, deletion, insertion, or chemical modification. Such modifications, in some embodiments, do not reduce the functionality of the protein or peptide.
  • variants include proteins, wherein one or more amino acids have been replaced by their respective D-stereoisomers or by amino acids other than the naturally occurring 20 amino acids, such as ornithine, hydroxyproline, citrulline, homoserine, hydroxylysine, and norvaline.
  • substitutions may also be conservative, i.e., an amino acid residue is replaced with a chemically similar amino acid residue.
  • the modified proteins may be selected from a large output population of amino acid sequences following computational-, bioinformatic-, or structural-biology analysis, based on energetic considerations, i.e., those sequences with low energy.
  • Energetic calculations can be applied to the entire amino acid sequence or, alternatively, be restricted to specific regions or selected amino acids within the protein. In the latter (different regions or selected amino acids), the information may be integrated to measure the entire protein.
  • Calculation of each one of the amino acid sequences may be done by combining physico-based (also known as biophysical methods) and statistics-based potentials (also known as knowledge-based potentials or informatics methods), such as by using the Rosetta Energy Unit (REU).
  • Rosetta Energy Unit is an algorithm of the Rosetta software, a package of algorithms for computational modeling and protein structures analysis.
  • the Rosetta software enables notable scientific advances in computational biology, including de novo protein design, enzyme design, ligand docking, and structure prediction of biological macromolecules and macromolecular complexes.
  • Rosetta energy function is a combination of physical and statistical based potentials that does not match with any actual physical energy units. Rosetta energies are on an arbitrary scale and sometimes referred to as REU (for “Rosetta Energy Unit”).
  • the REU may be calculated for the entire protein sequence comprising the at least one amino acid substitution. In some other embodiments, the REU may be calculated for at least one region comprising the at least one amino acid substitution of the entire protein sequence. In some other embodiments, the REU may be calculated for at least one amino acid substitution in the entire protein sequence.
  • the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 182 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy of about ⁇ 190 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy of about ⁇ 195 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 195 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 196 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 197 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 198 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy of about ⁇ 198 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 198.4 given in REU.
  • the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 200 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower ⁇ 203 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 206.4 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 210 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 214.6 given in REU.
  • the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 270.11 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 300 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 350 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 400 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 410 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 418 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 420 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 430 given in REU. In some embodiments, the modified protein has an energy lower than ⁇ 433 given in REU.
  • the modified protein has an energy of between ⁇ 182 given in REU to about ⁇ 214.6 given in REU. In some other embodiments, the modified protein has an energy of between ⁇ 195 given in REU to about ⁇ 214.6 given in REU. In some other embodiments, the modified protein has an energy of between ⁇ 197 given in REU to about ⁇ 214.6 given in REU.
  • the modified protein may result from amino acid substitutions or deletions at various regions of the protein.
  • “Regions of the protein” as used herein refers to an amino acid sequence or structural motif that is part of the protein sequence (amino acid sequence) or structure.
  • Non-limiting examples of protein regions include protein surface, protein core, protein loop, secondary structure elements, secondary structure capping, disulfide, binding-site, linker, hydrophobic-patch, or protein hydrophobic region.
  • the amino acid substitution in the reference protein is not limited to a specific protein region or sequence. Regions of the reference protein that may include the amino acid substitutions include the reference protein surface, hydrophobic core, or regions called loop regions (also denoted as regions lacking secondary structures), edges of secondary structures (also denoted secondary structure capping regions), disulfide regions, binding-site regions, linker regions, and hydrophobic-patch regions.
  • reference surface region may refer to the corresponding region of the reference protein, which may be a reference MNEI protein.
  • the reference protein may be substituted within a confined region within the reference protein structure and/or sequence. In some embodiments, the reference protein may be substituted in the surface region. In some embodiments, the reference protein may be substituted in the core region. In some embodiments, the reference protein may be substituted by disulfide bonds. In some embodiments, the reference protein may be substituted in loop regions. In some embodiments, the two or more amino acid replacements are located on the surface of the reference protein.
  • the reference protein may be substituted with a confined region that is not in the area adjacent to the predicted or known binding site of the reference protein to the receptor.
  • ‘adjacent’ may mean 4-7 ⁇ from the binding interface.
  • the reference protein may be substituted at different regions within the reference protein structure and/or sequence. In some embodiments, the reference protein may be substituted at least in the surface region, the core region, the disulfide bond or loop regions, or any combination thereof.
  • the protein surface region is the area with partial or full solvent accessibility (SASA—solvent accessible surface area).
  • SASA solvent accessible surface area
  • the protein core region as used herein, is the area not accessible to solvents with an amino-acid relative SASA (solvent accessible surface area) of less than 50% or, for the inner core, less than 20%.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence that has 10% to 98%, 20% to 98%, 30% to 98%, 40% to 98%, 50% to 90%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 98% identity in the surface region relative to a reference surface region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence that has 10% to 98%, 20% to 98%, 30% to 98%, 40% to 98%, 50% to 90%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 98% identity in the hydrophobic core (hydrophobic-patch) region relative to a reference hydrophobic core (hydrophobic-patch) region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence that has 10% to 98%, 20% to 98%, 30% to 98%, 40% to 98%, 50% to 90%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 98% similarity in the hydrophobic core (hydrophobic-patch) region relative to a reference hydrophobic core (hydrophobic-patch) region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence having three (3) to forty (40) amino acid substitutions, 4 to 30, 5 to 30 amino acid substitutions in the surface region relative to a reference surface region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least one (1), two (2), three (3), at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 10, at least 15, at least 18, at least 20, at least 25 or at least 30 amino acid substitutions in the surface region relative to a reference surface region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence that has 20%, 30%, 50%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 98% identity in the core region relative to a reference core region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence that is 20%, 30%, 50%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 98% similar in the core region relative to a reference amino acid sequence core region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence having one to five amino acid substitutions in the core region relative to a reference core region.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence with 90%, 95%, or 98% identity in the region that binds to the receptor (receptor binding site) relative to a reference region that binds to the receptor in the reference.
  • the modified protein comprises an amino acid sequence with 90%, 95%, or 98% similarity in the receptor binding site relative to a reference receptor binding site.
  • the receptor binding site of the reference protein is not substituted in the modified protein.
  • At least one of the disulfide bonds is removed and the regions around them are redesigned with 8 to 20 substitutions around each of the removed disulfide bonds.
  • amino acids may be referred to herein by either their commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-letter symbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission.
  • Amino acid substitution refers to a change from one amino acid to a different amino acid. This is typically due to a point mutation in the DNA sequence caused by a nonsynonymous missense mutation, which alters the codon sequence to code a different amino acid than the references.
  • An amino acid replacement may affect protein function or structure, generally depending upon how similar or dissimilar the replaced amino acids are and their position in the sequence or structure.
  • amino acid substitutions may be made based on similarity in size, polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, bulkiness (or flexibility), beta-branching, propensity for residing in a specific secondary structure or in a specific solvent accessibility region, aromaticity, ability to confer specific bonding interactions (hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, polar, and nonpolar interactions), pK, ability to bind sugars and other post-translational modifications, and/or the amphipathic nature of the residues involved.
  • the amino acid substitutions may be a conservative replacement. Such a replacement encompasses a change of one amino acid into another amino acid exhibiting similar properties.
  • a conservative amino acid replacement (also denoted as conservative amino acid “substitutions” or conservative amino acid mutations) is an amino acid replacement in a protein that changes a given amino acid to a different amino acid with similar biochemical, structural, and/or chemical properties.
  • amino acids may be sorted into six main classes based on their structure and the general chemical characteristics of their side chains (R groups).
  • each of the following groups contains other exemplary amino acids that are conservative substitutions for one another:
  • the replacement is a radical replacement.
  • a radical replacement substitution is an exchange of an amino acid into another amino acid with different properties.
  • the degree of sequence similarity and/or sequence identity between the reference protein and the modified protein may generally affect the modified protein's properties. For example, a large number of substitutions may affect the binding kinetics, folding kinetics, solubility, thermostability, halostability, pH stability, shelf-life, binding to non-aqueous particles (e.g., protein or fat in food matrix or hydrophobic regions in the oral cavity), 3D structure, as well as its activity and related properties.
  • the computational methods developed and applied herein provide a thorough understanding of putative amino acid residues for substitution that will result in improved modified proteins.
  • the reference protein is MNEI having an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:45. As shown in Example 1 below, CPD analysis has revealed several amino acids as targets for substitution or deletion.
  • the at least one amino acid substitution is a conservative substitution. In some embodiments, the at least one amino acid substitution is a radical substitution. In some embodiments, two or more amino acids are substituted.
  • Amino acid substitutions in MNEI were previously reported, including multiple mutations.
  • Zheng et al. reported novel double mutant MNEI-based proteins with improved sweetness and stability.
  • Zheng et al. demonstrated that a single substitution E2N in MNEI resulted in a 3-fold improved sweetness and slightly reduced stability.
  • Zheng et al. further showed that introducing an additional substitution, E23A or Y65R, in addition to the E2N substitution (e.g., E2N/E23A, E2N/Y65R), did not affect sweetness.
  • At least two or at least three of the at least three amino acid substitutions in a reference protein being MNEI is a conservative substitution.
  • the modified MNEI protein described herein has an improved food-related property.
  • the protein's sweetness profile such as sweetness potency (sugar-like flavor), lack of off-taste, reduced onset time, and reduced lingering taste of the modified protein, may be determined by any known taste test known in the art. For example, a comparison to the sweetness of sucrose or other sweeteners can be made by a taste panel, and the sweetness potency may be graded as detailed in the examples below.
  • the comparison may be made by determining the modified protein's threshold as compared to a known sweetener, such as sucrose, for example, by determining the minimum concentration required to evoke the sensation of sweetness, or a sweetness profile assessment, including characteristics such as sweetness profile, sweetness onset time, lingering taste, mouthfeel, aftertaste, off-taste, and masking of unwanted tastes.
  • a known sweetener such as sucrose
  • a sweetness profile assessment including characteristics such as sweetness profile, sweetness onset time, lingering taste, mouthfeel, aftertaste, off-taste, and masking of unwanted tastes.
  • sweetening-affecting properties encompass a sweet sensation determined by at least one of a sweetness threshold of about 0.28 mg/L, of about 0.5 mg/L, or higher, sweetness duration of about between 1 to 20 seconds, at times between 2 to 18 seconds, at times between 2-4 seconds
  • the modified MNEI protein like the reference MNEI protein, binds to the sweet receptor.
  • the modified MNEI protein has a perceived sweetness threshold that is 300-16,000 higher than sugar on a per weight basis.
  • the sensory profile includes taste kinetics showing taste intensity over time, i.e., onset duration (time until feeling taste), taste duration, and time of lingering taste (corresponding to a gaussian tail). Additional features include off-taste (e.g., due to binding to other receptors), taste roundness, metallic and other side-tastes, synergy with other ingredients (e.g., masking and enhancing other flavors or unwanted tastes, such as stevia), mouthfeel, astringency, and alike.
  • the modified protein is characterized by at least one of the following being equal or improved relative to the reference protein: (1) structural thermal stability, (2) functional thermal stability, (3) pH stability, (4) solubility in water or a partly aqueous milieu (e.g., foods containing fat), or (5) shelf-life stability.
  • the modified protein described herein is characterized by a sweet taste as well as other taste effects (masking unwanted tastes, less aftertaste, less lingering taste, less off-taste, umami taste, better mouthfeel) that may be used as a sweetener in the preparation of a product for oral delivery.
  • the modified proteins can be used as a flavor modifying agent or a flavor-enhancing agent.
  • the modified protein described herein is for use as an oral product.
  • the product is a food or beverage product, a dietary supplement product, or a medicament.
  • the proteins described herein may be combined with any food-grade additive.
  • the food or beverage product may be provided and used in any solid dry form, including, without being limited thereto, fine powder, lyophilizate, granulate, tablets, etc.
  • the composition is provided in liquid form, for example, as a solute in water (aqueous solution).
  • the product comprising the modified proteins may have various applications. This includes, without being limited thereto (each of the following constituting a separate embodiment of the present disclosure), utilization as a sweetener, flavor, enhancer, maskers, and proteins that have flavor characteristics in the food and beverage industry (fruit and vegetable juice and nectars, soft drinks, ready-to-drink beverages, syrups, functional drinks, sports drinks, etc.), in the dairy industry, i.e., dairy products, yogurts, and puddings; in the pharmaceutical industry; the naturopathic industry, the nutraceutical industry (e.g., nutraceutical bar), and other healthcare products (e.g., toothpaste and mouthwash), confectionery, candy and gum industry, vegetables (e.g., ketchup or sauces) or any other application that requires the use of a flavor modifying composition as an excipient or additive.
  • the nutraceutical industry e.g., nutraceutical bar
  • other healthcare products e.g., toothpaste and mouthwash
  • confectionery, candy and gum industry
  • the additional food ingredient is selected from a group consisting of sucrose, fructose, glucose, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, date sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, monk fruit, sugar alcohols, rare sugars, steviol glycosides, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and dietary fibers.
  • the modified protein has structural thermal stability equal or improved relative to the reference protein.
  • structural thermal stability refers to the ability of the modified protein to retain its 3D structure at temperatures above that of the reference protein.
  • the 3D structural stability of a protein can be measured by any method known in the art, such as Circular Dichroism (CD), or thermal shift assays such as Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF) or Differential Scanning calorimetry (DSC) or titration with protein denaturating agents such as guanidinium chloride.
  • CD Circular Dichroism
  • DSF Differential Scanning Fluorimetry
  • DSC Differential Scanning calorimetry
  • titration with protein denaturating agents such as guanidinium chloride.
  • shelf-life and thermal stability required for food and beverage products may be related to the structural thermal stability and consists of different measurables, e.g., pasteurization (or heat treatment during preparation of the consumer-packaged good final product) can be applied by different protocols and is related to the heat resistance of retaining the protein structure over a very short time.
  • pasteurization or heat treatment during preparation of the consumer-packaged good final product
  • the modified protein has functional thermal stability equal or higher relative to the reference protein.
  • functional thermal stability refers to the ability of the modified protein to retain its function after exposure to high temperatures compared with the reference protein.
  • the modified protein herein may maintain its sweetness effect at a higher temperature or after exposure to a higher temperature for a limited time. In other words, there is no apparent change in the sweetness or sensory profile after product exposure to a temperature above room temperature, at times, up to 50° C., at times up to 100° C., or even up to 150° C.
  • the protein function e.g., sweetness, may be measured by sensory tests after the protein is cooled down to a temperature in which it can be tasted.
  • the modified protein has pH stability being equal or higher relative to the reference protein.
  • pH stability refers to the long-term stability of the modified protein at a wider pH range relative to the reference protein, namely the modified protein maintains the 3D structure and/or function after exposure of the product to any pH from 3 to 8, at times, at a pH of between 4 to 8.
  • a soda like cola has a pH of 2.3-2.5, at which some of the sweet proteins are unstable and lose functionality immediately or after a time that is shorter than the regular shelf-life of the beverage.
  • the modified MNEI protein has a solubility higher than the reference MNEI protein.
  • Solubility may be in an aqueous, partly aqueous, or non-aqueous milieu, such as foods containing fat.
  • the modified MNEI protein has an improved shelf-life relative to the reference MNEI protein.
  • Improved shelf-life refers to no sensed change in sweetness (function) or physical deterioration of a product comprising the composition (e.g., color change, phase separation, etc.) after exposure of the product to any temperature up to 150° C., at times, to any temperature between 4° C. to 150°, or 100°.
  • the modified MNEI protein is characterized by at least one of the following being equal or improved relative to the reference MNEI protein (1) folding kinetics, (2) post-translational modification (e.g., glycosylation or acetylation) pattern of the protein is different than the reference protein, (3) the number of disulfide bonds are higher relative to the reference MNEI protein, which has no disulfide bonds.
  • post-translational modification e.g., glycosylation or acetylation
  • the modified MNEI protein has folding kinetics equal or higher relative to the reference MNEI protein.
  • the protein folding rate from an unfolded or partially folded structure is faster (as assessed in silico, e.g., by molecular dynamics or by experimental in vitro or in vivo methods).
  • faster folding kinetics refers to slower unfolding kinetics in denaturation experiments, e.g., by denaturant titrations (e.g., guanidinium chloride and/or high-concentration urea) or other methods.
  • the modified MNEI protein is characterized by an expression yield equal or higher relative to the reference MNEI protein in the host organism assessed.
  • the modified MNEI protein has a pI value of between 8.6 to 9.5.
  • the modified MNEI protein described herein is characterized by a sweet taste as well as other taste effects (masking unwanted tastes, less aftertaste, less lingering taste, less off-taste, less lingering taste onset, and umami taste) may be used as a sweetener in the preparation of a product for oral delivery.
  • the modified MNEI protein can be used as a flavor modifying agent or a flavor-enhancing agent.
  • the modified MNEI protein described herein is for use as an oral product.
  • the product is a food product, a food supplementary product, or a medicament.
  • the proteins described herein may be combined with any food-grade additive.
  • the food product may be provided and used in any solid dry form, including, without being limited thereto, fine powder, lyophilizate, granulate, tablets, etc.
  • the composition is provided in liquid form, for example, as a solute in water (aqueous solution).
  • the product comprising the modified MNEI proteins may have various applications. This includes, without being limited thereto (each of the following constituting a separate embodiment of the present disclosure), utilization as a sweetener, flavor, enhancer, or masker in the food and beverages industry (fruit and vegetable juice and nectars, soft drinks, ready-to-drink beverages, syrups, functional drinks, sports drinks, etc.), in the dairy industry, i.e., dairy products, yogurts, and puddings, in the pharmaceutical industry, in the naturopathic industry, nutraceutical industry, and other healthcare products (e.g., toothpaste and mouthwash), confectionary, candy and gum industry, vegetables (e.g. ketchup or sauces) or any other application that requires the use of a flavor modifying composition as an excipient or additive.
  • a sweetener, flavor, enhancer, or masker in the food and beverages industry (fruit and vegetable juice and nectars, soft drinks, ready-to-drink beverages, syrups, functional drinks, sports drinks, etc.), in the dairy industry
  • the product may comprise additional food ingredients.
  • the food ingredient is a sweetener, for example, a steviol glycoside.
  • a sweetener for example, a steviol glycoside.
  • the combination of the modified protein described herein and a steviol glycoside produce a synergetic effect.
  • the product comprises at least one modified protein denoted by SEQ ID NOs:1-21 and a steviol glycoside.
  • Stevia (denoted herein a steviol glycoside or mixture thereof) and/or its varieties are combined with the modified protein of the present invention at the range of 0.5° Bx to 8° Bx sucrose equivalent, the modified protein represents the replacement of 30% to 70% of Sucrose sweetness.
  • the perceived sweetness intensity is at least 100% of stevia solution at a sucrose equivalent of 0.5° Bx to 8° Bx.
  • the perceived lingering sensory profile is superior to 100% of a stevia solution at a sucrose equivalent of 0.5° Bx to 8° Bx.
  • the perceived sourness sensory profile is superior to 100% of a stevia solution at a sucrose equivalent of 0.5° Bx to 8° Bx.
  • the additional food ingredient is selected from the group consisting of sucrose, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, date sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, monk fruit, sugar alcohols, rare sugars, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and dietary fibers.
  • the formulations described herein provide a sugar-like taste profile with a decreased, eliminated, or masked aftertaste or off-flavor (e.g., metallic or licorice taste) or a decreased, eliminated, or masked bitterness or decreased, eliminated, or masked sweet taste lingering.
  • a decreased, eliminated, or masked aftertaste or off-flavor e.g., metallic or licorice taste
  • a decreased, eliminated, or masked bitterness or decreased, eliminated, or masked sweet taste lingering e.g., metallic or licorice taste
  • the modified MNEI proteins can be produced by any method known in the art, for example, the protein can be produced synthetically, by recombinant DNA technology, or by protein production in microorganisms via fermenters, plants, plant callus, or other bioreactors.
  • the modified proteins may be produced in bacteria, such as E. coli.
  • the modified proteins may be produced yeast, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Pichia pastoris.
  • the modified proteins may be produced in filamentous fungi such as Trichoderma, or Aspergillus.
  • yeast and filamentous fungi include, but are not limited to any Kluyveromyces sp., such as Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saccharomyces sp., such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia sp., such as Pichia pastoris, Pichia finlandica, Pichia trehalophila, Pichia koclamae, Pichia membranaefaciens, Pichia minuta ( Ogataea minuta, Pichia lindneri ), Pichia opuntiae, Pichia thermotolerans, Pichia salictaria, Pichia guercuum, Pichia pyperi, Pichia stiptis, Pichia methanolica, Hansenula polymorpha, Candida albicans, any Aspergillus sp., such as Aspergillus nidulans, As
  • the DNA sequence of the chosen amino acid sequence is optimized at the RNA and DNA levels.
  • percentage values such as, for example, 10%, 50%, 120%, 500%, etc., are interchangeable with “fold change” values, i.e., 0.1, 0.5, 1.2, 5, etc., respectively.
  • the term “about” refers to ⁇ 10%.
  • the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “having,” and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”.
  • the term “consisting essentially of” means that the composition, method, or structure may include additional ingredients, steps and/or parts, but only if the additional ingredients, steps and/or parts do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition, method or structure.
  • Solution refers to a liquid mixture in which the minor component (the solute) is uniformly distributed within the major component (the solvent).
  • a solution is clear and does not contain particulate matter, in contrast to a suspension or cloudy mixture.
  • “Syrup” or “Beverage syrup,” as used herein, refers to a beverage precursor to which a fluid, typically water, is added to form a ready-to-drink beverage or a “beverage.”
  • a fluid typically water
  • the volumetric ratio of syrup to water is between 1:3 to 1:8, more typically between 1:4 and 1:6.
  • the volumetric ratio of syrup to water also is expressed as a “throw.”
  • a 1:5 ratio a ratio commonly used within the beverage industry, is known as a “1+5 throw.”
  • formulations can be used “as-is” or in combination with other sweeteners, flavors, and food ingredients.
  • Non-limiting examples of sweeteners include steviol glycosides, stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside B, Rebaudioside C, Rebaudioside D, Rebaudioside E, Rebaudioside F, dulcoside A, steviolbioside, rubusoside, as well as other steviol glycosides found in Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni plant and mixtures thereof, stevia extract, Luo Han Guo extract, mogrosides, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, invert sugar, fructooligosaccharides, inulin, inulooligosaccharides, coupling sugar, maltooligosaccharides, maltodextins, corn syrup solids, glucose, maltose, sucrose, lactose, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, sugar alcohols.
  • Non-limiting examples of flavors include cranberries, lemon, orange, banana, grape, pear, pineapple, guarana, apple, mango, bitter almond, cola, cinnamon, sugar, cotton candy, and vanilla flavors.
  • Non-limiting examples of other food ingredients include flavors, acidulants, organic and amino acids, coloring agents, bulking agents, modified starches, gums, texturizers, preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, and gelling agents.
  • sugar-like characteristic As used herein, the phrases “sugar-like characteristic,” “sugar-like taste,” “sugar-like sweetness,” “sugary,” and “sugar-like” are synonymous.
  • Sugar-like characteristics include any characteristic similar to that of sucrose and include, but are not limited to, maximal response, flavor profile, temporal profile, adaptation behavior, mouthfeel, concentration/response function behavior, taste and flavor/sweet taste interactions, spatial pattern selectivity, and temperature effects. These characteristics are dimensions in which the taste of sucrose is different from the tastes of natural and synthetic high-potency sweeteners. Whether or not a characteristic is more sugar-like is determined by an expert sensory panel's assessment of sugar and the functional taste-improving compositions. Such assessments quantify similarities in the composition characteristics. Suitable procedures for determining whether a composition has a more sugar-like taste are well known in the art.
  • flavor or “flavor characteristic,” as used herein, is the combined sensory perception of the components of taste, odor, and/or texture.
  • enhance includes augmenting, intensifying, accentuating, magnifying, and potentiating the sensory perception of a flavor characteristic without changing the nature thereof.
  • modify includes altering, varying, suppressing, depressing, fortifying, and supplementing the sensory perception of a flavor characteristic where the quality or duration of such characteristic was deficient.
  • TMP taste-modifying proteins
  • the “high-intensity sweetener” in the present invention means a protein with strong sweetness compared to sucrose and may be a naturally occurring protein, a recombinant protein, or a combination thereof.
  • the high-intensity sweetener exhibits sweetness 5 times or more, 10 times or more, 50 times or more, 100 times or more, 500 times or more, 1000 times or more, 5000 times or more, 10000 times or more, 50000 times or more, 100000 times or more than sucrose in the same amount.
  • the “nutritional function components,” as used herein, refer to nutrients for humans and refer to any one or more selected from the group consisting of mineral, organic acid, vitamin, polyphenol, protein, amino acid, dietary fiber, and glucide (except for saccharides).
  • the term “functional stability,” as used herein, refers to stability in a formulation or consumer-packaged good conditions and the stability of maintaining the functional sensory properties rather than the chemical stability of pure material in dry, water, or buffer form.
  • foodstuff means any edible oral composition, including beverages, confectionery products, chewing gum products, or food products.
  • beverage means any drinkable liquid or semi-liquid, including, for example, flavored water, soft drinks, fruit drinks, coffee-based drinks, tea-based drinks, juice-based drinks, milk-based drinks, jelly drinks, carbonated or non-carbonated drinks, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks.
  • orally ingestible composition and “sweetening composition” are synonymous and refer to substances which contact the mouth of man or animal, including substances taken into and subsequently ejected from the mouth and substances which are drunk, eaten, swallowed, or otherwise ingested, and are safe for human or animal consumption when used in a generally acceptable range.
  • These compositions include food, beverage, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, oral hygienic/cosmetic products, and the like.
  • Non-limiting examples of these products include non-carbonated and carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) such as colas, ginger ale, root beers, ciders, fruit-flavored soft drinks (e.g., citrus-flavored soft drinks such as lemon-lime, cranberries or orange); powdered soft drinks and the like; fruit juices originating in fruits or vegetables; fruit juices including squeezed juices or the like; fruit juices containing fruit particles, fruit beverages, fruit juice beverages, beverages containing fruit juices, beverages with fruit flavorings, vegetable juices, juices containing vegetables, and mixed juices containing fruits and vegetables; sports drinks, energy drinks, near water and the like drinks (e.g., water with natural or synthetic flavorings); tea type or beverages such as coffee, cocoa, black tea, green tea, oolong tea and the like; beverages containing milk components such as milk beverages, coffee containing milk components, cafe au lait, milk tea, fruit milk beverages, drinkable yogurt, lactic acid bacteria beverages or the like; dairy products; bakery products; desserts such as yogurt,
  • Stevia is the common name for Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), a perennial shrub of the Asteracae (Compositae) family native to Brazil and Paraguay.
  • Stevia leaves, the aqueous extract of the leaves, and purified steviol glycosides isolated from Stevia, have been developed as sweeteners desirable as both non-caloric and natural in origin.
  • Steviol glycosides isolated from Stevia rebaudiana include stevioside, rebaudioside A, rebaudioside C, dulcoside A, rubusoside, steviolbioside, rebaudioside B, rebaudioside D and rebaudioside F.
  • Reb M (also called rebaudioside X), (13-[(2-O-.beta.-D-glucopyranosyl-3-O-.beta.-D-glucopyranosyl-.beta.-D-gl-ucopyranosyl)oxy] ent kaur-16-en-19-oic acid-[(2-O-.beta.-D-glucopyranosyl-3-O-.beta.-D-glucopyranosyl-.beta.-D-g-lucopyranosyl) ester], was isolated from Stevia rebaudiana and characterized.
  • the food or beverage composition has an improved food or beverage related property.
  • the composition's sweetness profile such as sweetness potency, lack of off-taste, reduced onset time, and reduced lingering taste of the composition, may be determined by any known taste test known in the art. For example, a comparison to the sweetness of sucrose or other sweeteners can be made by a sensory panel, and the sweetness potency may be graded as detailed in the examples below.
  • MNEI Single-chain monellin
  • the computational and human-expert analysis provides a reduced sequence space that can be further analyzed computationally, by an expert, experimentally, or by a combination of these methods.
  • Such analyses can be applied to individual amino acids, to clusters of amino-acids, or to other combinations.
  • CPD Computational Protein Design
  • amino acid replacements and/or deletions were allowed in specific regions less likely to be part of the receptor binding site, e.g., around the helix, the non-exposed side of the beta-sheet which forms the protein core, or the engineered loop which differentiates MNEI from wild-type Monellin.
  • a ROSETTA run resulted in 600K models.
  • the outcome graph had the form of a logit function.
  • a logit function (also known as log-odds) is a logarithm of the odds p/(1 ⁇ p) where p is the probability. It is the inverse of the sigmoidal “logistic” function.
  • This loop is not native to monellin and was introduced as a linker of the two subunits of the natural monellin (chain A & chain B). In this manner, MNEI was produced.
  • the introduced loop had no impact on sweetness, thus MNEI has the same sweetness as Monellin, however, MNEI has a higher Tm (melting temperature), illustrating the impact that the loops can have on protein stability (Curr Opin Struct Biol. 1999 August; 9 (4):494-9). Identifying the importance of the loop, the inventors redesigned and shortened the loop to increase yield, stability, and sensory profile.
  • loops with varying lengths were modeled using CPD software such as Rosetta or Swiss-PDB-Viewer. Loop modeling was done based on physical consideration using the MNEI sequence or based on homology modeling. Each model was then energy minimized, and the energy was calculated using GROMOS96 43B1 force field. Based on this analysis, loops with 6, 5, and 4 residues were further tested as loops with these lengths were found to be energetically more favorable.
  • FIGS. 30 - 32 compare properties of DM31 to those of MNEI, using crystal structures available in the PDB and the crystal structure of DM31 solved by the inventors. These figures suggest that the substitutions, insertions and deletions, as well as the loop redesign, resulting in the new protein, DM31, made the protein more stable with significantly more rigid structural elements. Increased stability is suggested by the compact redesigned loop structure of DM31 as compared to MNEI's loop structures ( FIG. 30 B ). In addition, the B-factor analyses shown in FIGS. 31 A & 31 B demonstrate reduced B-factors for loop residues of DM31 ( FIG. 31 B ), as well as reduced averages for secondary structure elements ( FIG. 31 A ). As B-factors indicate disorder, these results demonstrate the increased stability of DM31.
  • FIG. 32 shows backbone mediated hydrogen bonds in the redesigned loop and adjacent beta strands, demonstrating better optimized hydrogen bonds, as well as a new bond in this region of DM31 ( FIG. 32 C ) as compared to the corresponding loop in MNEI ( FIG. 32 A , PDB ID: 2o9u).
  • the new hydrogen bond denotes a stable beta turn, which replaces the disordered loop.
  • Hydrogen bonds are also shown in Table 1B. This figure illustrates 19 hydrogen bonds that are present in DM31, and not present in at least one of the available MNEI structures.
  • the numbers in the table indicate the distance of the participating hydrogen on the backbone nitrogen and the backbone oxygen as an acceptor.
  • the table suggests that in the 2o9u structure, which is the highest resolution structure available for MNEI (resolution of 1.15A), there are less hydrogen bonds and some of these bonds are less optimized (in terms of distance and angle) compared to the DM31 crystal structure (resolution of 1.6 angstrom). Beyond the increase in B-factors that is described in FIG. 31 , the 2o9u structure has three residues with double occupancies (E4, M42 and E48); highlighting the disorder in this high-resolution structure which was rigidified in the DM31 structure.
  • the inserts in FIG. 30 A highlight selected amino acid substitutions as well as the redesigned loop region. These changes are the underpinnings of the increased stability and sweetness of the designer protein, DM31.
  • the insert showing the loop region in FIG. 30 A illustrates that the residues in the loop area not only formed a novel hydrogen-bond ( FIG. 32 ), but also participated in elongation of the two beta-strands nearby, also indicating increased stability.
  • the replacement of the dirordered loop with a elongated beta strands linked by a beta turn rigidifies this region of the protein, resulting in increased stability, as shown a significant increase in the melting temperature.
  • Debye Waller factors also known as temperature-factors, B-factors, or atomic displacement parameters, are included for every atom in every X-ray structure deposited to the Protein Data Bank (PDB). These values are given for every protein atom and refer to the mean displacement of the atom as referred to from the experimental electron density map. Such distraction is the result of two different phenomena, dynamic disorder caused by the temperature-dependent vibration of the atoms, and static disorder.
  • the backbone B-factors of structures of MNEI (PDB IDs: 209U, 1IV7, 5Z1P) to the values of DM09 and DM31 were compared, based on the crystal structures prepared by the Structural Proteomic Center (Weizmann Institute of Science). For each protein, the backbone B-factor values were first normalized separately using Z-score normalization.
  • FIGS. 31 A-B demonstrated the Normalized B-factors of MNEI structurers, DM09 & DM31.
  • the backbone B-factors were first normalized for each structure separately using Z-score normalization.
  • MolProbity preforms quality assurance analysis on the biophysical properties of protein structures.
  • MolProbity was used to check MNEI structures and compare them to the crystal structures of DM09 and DM31. The comparison demonstrated that DM31 had favorable traits compared to the reference MNEI structures. Notably, DM31 has no poor rotamers, and over 96% of its rotamers are favored according to MolProbity.
  • MolProbity examines are combinations of the backbone dihedral angles in relation to the known statistical distributions of these angles for different amino acids. With respect to these distributions, DM31 has no outlier angles and demonstrates over 97 percent of favorable values.
  • Proteins are stabilized by hydrogen bonds, which also determine their secondary structures.
  • PyMol was used to analyze the hydrogen bonds of the crystal structures of DM31, DM09 and a representative high-quality MNEI structure, PDB id 209U.
  • the Analysis revealed the presence of new hydrogen bonds at the designer loop region, between E48 and E51 (equivalent to E54 in MNEI). This introduced bond, the result of a design which aimed at stabilizing the loop region, resulted in a classical rigid type-II beta-turn that is far more stable as than the random coil unstable loop found in the MNEI structures.
  • FIGS. 32 A-C demonstrate the hydrogen bonds for MNEI(A), DM09(B) and DM31(C).
  • the loop region is framed in squares.
  • FIG. 33 shows that the DM31 loop structure matches the structural definition of beta-turn: the structure of DM31 designed loop, and schematic beta-turn.
  • MNEI proteins were produced in E. coli BL21(DE3+) under a T7 promoter induced with Isopropyl ⁇ -D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). Using this system, MNEI proteins were expressed as cytosolic protein (soluble fraction) in a high-density fermentation process.
  • Designer MNEI are designed proteins with up to 11% amino acid substitutions. Two DM molecules were disclosed in WO2019215730 to the inventors of the present invention (DM08 and DM09). Both proteins contain three substitutions at positions 2, 23, and 65 of MNEI, leading to higher thermal stability and increased stability.
  • the present invention discloses novel DM molecules, which were produced to add up to three extra amino acid substitutions to either DM08 or DM09 at positions 35, 36, and 70, with or without reversing the replacements at positions 2 and 23.
  • two unique DM molecules in which four amino acids were removed from the loop connecting the monellin B and A chains, were produced (DM28 and DM29).
  • DM28 and DM29 Two unique DM molecules, in which four amino acids were removed from the loop connecting the monellin B and A chains, were produced (DM28 and DM29).
  • substitutions at positions 36 and 70 with the newly designed loop three additional variants were then produced (DM31, DM32, and DM33).
  • One additional variant was produced with only single amino acid substitution vs DM09 (DM30).
  • SDM Site-directed mutagenesis
  • nucleotide sequences of DM13-DM33 and DM-3, 8-12 are listed in Table 3.
  • DM clones were subjected to fermentation in 3L vessels using the Sartorius BioStatB system or 2L vessels of Solaris Jupiter system. Some DM clones were produced by outsourcing at VTT (Finland) and SciVac (Israel) All fermentations followed a protocol based on “High cell-density fermentation of Escherichia coli ” by Arie Geerlof-EMBL Hamburg 29 Jan. 2008.
  • DSF Differential Scanning Fluorimetry
  • Nanotemper Prometheus was determined by Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF) using Nanotemper Prometheus.
  • DSF is a method for easy, rapid, and accurate analysis of protein stability and aggregation. DSF detects changes in the fluorescence of tryptophan and tyrosine residues in the protein. The fluorescence of tryptophan and tyrosine residues is strongly dependent on their close surroundings. A change in protein conformation will be reflected as a fluorescence change. The 1 st derivate of the fluorescence ratio (330/350) is used to determine the inflection point.
  • protein solutions can be analyzed independently of buffer compositions and over a concentration range of 250 mg/ml down to 10 ⁇ g/ml.
  • DM13-33 were analyzed at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml in a 10 mM phosphate buffer pH 7.
  • Table 4 summarizes the properties of the modifying proteins DM13-DM33. The results indicate the role of several amino acids in controlling protein sweetness and thermal stability. Besides E2, E23, and Y65, substituting Leucine at position 70 with Isoleucine increased the Tm by 2° C. Stability was further increased by substituting Lysine at position 36 with Threonine, however, this substitution also caused a reduction of protein sweetness. Loop design resulting in a 4 amino acids loop led to increased stability, expressed in increase of Tm of about 7-10 ° C.
  • Tm (° C.) Structural thermal stability is estimated according to the inflection point, determined by Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF). Sweetness level was evaluated at 6oBx sucrose equivalent based on the potency of 1:4000, diluted in water, compared to DM09. Sweet intensity vs.
  • FIG. 2 B A dose response of sweetness intensity of DM13 ( FIG. 2 B ), DM28 ( FIG. 2 C ) and DM31 ( FIG. 2 D ) compared to MNEI ( FIG. 2 A ) was conducted.
  • a linear scale for sucrose was obtained in concentrations of 2° Bx, 4° Bx, 6° Bx, and 8° Bx.
  • Brix (Bx) gr/100 ml. After calibration, the tasters graded the tested samples at increasing concentrations on the same scale according to the validated tasting protocol.
  • DM13, DM28 and DM31 are four times sweeter than MNEI.
  • DM13 (at a concentration of 5° Bx iso-sweet) was added to the buffer solution and kept at this temperature for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, the solution was immediately cooled down in the freezer.
  • Buffer citrate pH3
  • DM13 at a concentration of 5° Bx iso-sweet was added to the buffer solution and kept at this temperature for 1 min, 3 min, and 10 min accordingly.
  • the expert panel tasted the products and evaluated the sweetness intensity on a scale of 0-100.
  • the treated products were tasted compared to the reference (same solution without heating). All products were served in code numbers.
  • DM13 is stable in buffer citrate at 90° C. for 10 minutes.
  • DM13 Shelf-life stability of DM13 was tested for 4 weeks and 8 weeks, at 21° C. and 32° C., in buffer citrate (0.113% citric acid, 0.016% tri-sodium citrate, 99.9% water). DM13 was added at 5 Brix equivalents (potency 1:4000).
  • the treated products were tasted by the expert panel and compared to a fresh solution. As shown in FIG. 5 A-B , DM13 is stable at both temperatures for 8 weeks.
  • the sensory expert panel was established by a screening process of potential tasters. Screening tests, conducted according to ISO standard (IS 8586-1), examined the sensory sensitivity, consistency, and sensory memory of the taster. The panel is well trained and calibrated. The selected panel is trained regularly to maintain high performance output.
  • a sensory vocabulary was determined by the expert panel. The sensory vocabulary was built by tasting a large range of products from the category and raising all the relevant sensory attributes which describes the category. Using as diverse a language as possible to best describe the products.
  • a ketchup prototype with a 69% reduction of added sugar is less sweet, sourer, saltier, and has more tingling on the tongue compared to a ketchup prototype with DM09.
  • FIG. 7 shows that a ketchup prototype with a 69% reduction of added sugar is less sweet, sourer, and has a lighter color compared to a ketchup prototype with full sugar.
  • FIG. 9 demonstrates that ketchup with DM28 has a similar sensory profile compared to ketchup with DM09, except having more “late onset” and more stickiness.
  • FIG. 18 demonstrates that ketchup with DM031 (69% reduction of added sugar) has a very similar sensory profile to that of the ketchup with DM09.
  • ketchup with DM09 does not lose its sweetness.
  • the changes that occur to the product are typical for ketchup after a shelf life of one month (darker color, more seasoned, sourer, thicker, and less smooth texture) ( FIG. 10 ).
  • plain yogurt with a 33% reduction of added sugar is less sweet than plain yogurt with DM09 and a 33% reduction of added sugar.
  • FIG. 12 demonstrates that plain yogurt with DM09 (33% reduction of added sugar) has a similar sensory profile to the full sugar yogurt prototype.
  • strawberry yogurt with DM28 has a similar sensory profile to strawberry yogurt with DM09, except being slightly sourer.
  • FIG. 19 demonstrates that strawberry yogurt with DM31 has a similar sensory profile to strawberry yogurt with DM09.
  • FIG. 14 demonstrates that after two weeks of shelf life, a plain yogurt with DM09 has a similar sensory profile to the fresh plain yogurt with DM09.
  • sweeteners and sweetener combinations were screened.
  • the sweetener combinations with the best results were Stevia versus Stevia+DM09, and a combination of Monk fruit with Stevia versus Monk fruit, Stevia, and DM09.
  • Each sweetness solution was at a final concentration equivalent to 5° Bx (in a combination of two sweeteners, each sweetener was at a concentration equivalent to 2.5° Bx and in a combination of three sweeteners, each sweetener was at a concentration equivalent to 1.7° Bx).
  • the sensory attributes in the questionnaire were determined by a preliminary tasting of the panelists.
  • each sweetener solution the panelists rated each tested solution (sweetener+DM09/DM28) versus a reference (the sweetener without DM09/DM28) on a two-way scale (between ⁇ 3 to +3) with a fixed reference point (0) across the selected attributes.
  • a specific attribute e.g., sweeter, more lingering, and so on
  • it got positive rates +1, +2, or +3
  • it was rated “less” than the reference on a specific attribute e.g., less sweet, less lingering taste and so on
  • it got negative rates ⁇ 1, ⁇ 2 or ⁇ 3).
  • Formulations of lemon-flavored drinks with DM proteins are presented in Tables 7-8.
  • FIG. 15 a water solution with stevia and DM09 is sweeter than a water solution with stevia alone, at the same sweetness level equivalent.
  • FIG. 16 demonstrates that a water solution with a combination of Monk fruit, stevia, and DM09 is sweeter with a shorter “late onset,” compared to a water solution with Monk fruit and stevia alone, at the same sweetness level equivalent.
  • a lemon-flavored drink (50% added sugar reduction with Stevia (5° Bx equivalent) has a very similar sensory profile to Stevia and DM09 (2.5° Bx equivalent each).
  • Chewing gum is usually composed of gum base, softeners, sweeteners, and flavors. Gum base is what gives chewing gum its “chew.” It is made of a combination of food-grade polymers, waxes, and softeners that give the gum the desired texture.
  • chewing gum with DM09 is sweeter than chewing gum without DM09 after 30 seconds of chewing
  • Formulations of peanut butter with DM protein is presented in Table 10.
  • DM09 based peanut butter ingredients Full sugar 50% sugar reduction Peanut butter paste (g) 80-100 80-100 Fat (g) 1-3 1-3 NaCl (g) 0.1-0.3 0.1-0.3 Sugar (g) 4-6 1-3 Maltodextrin (g) — 2-4 Dried DM09 (g) — 0.0006-0.0008 Fibers (g) — 1-3 Lecithin (g) 0-10 0-10
  • peanut butter with DM09 50% sugar reduction, has a very similar sensory profile to that of full sugar peanut butter.
  • Coffee, sugar, maltodextrin and DM09 are mixed to a combined mixture. Then 7-9 g of the mixture are mixed with 89-94 g milk until the mixture is homogenous.
  • iced coffee with DM09 (70% sugar reduction) is sweeter than ice coffee (70% sugar reduction) without DM.
  • FIG. 23 demonstrates that cranberry juice (40% sugar reduction, stevia and DM09) has a similar sweetness to the full sugar cranberry juice.
  • FIG. 24 demonstrates that cranberry juice with DM28 is sweeter than cranberry juice with DM09.
  • FIG. 25 demonstrates that cranberry juice (40% sugar reduction, stevia, and DM31) has a similar sensory profile to cranberry juice with a 40% sugar reduction, stevia, and DM09.
  • the cranberries were soaked in infusion syrup at a ratio of 1:3 for up to 6 hours until the cranberries reach 45-60° Bx (for full sugar application) or 20-30° Bx (for the DM application), the cranberries were then oven-dried at 70-120° C. until they reach 70-86° Bx (for full sugar application) or 33-45° Bx (for DM application).
  • the cranberries were soaked in infusion syrup at a ratio of 1:3 for up to 6 hours until they reached 45-60° Bx (for the full sugar application) or 25-38° Bx (for the DM application), the cranberries were then oven-dried at 70-120° C. until they reach 74-84 ° Bx (for full sugar application) or 42-54 ° Bx (for DM application).
  • the cranberries were soaked in an infusion syrup at a ratio of 1:3 for 2-6 hours until cranberries reached 45-60° Bx (for the full sugar application) or 20-30° Bx (for the DM application).
  • the cranberries are then oven-dried at 70-120° C. Drying is considered complete when the cranberries reach 70-86° Bx for a full sugar application or 33-45° Bx for a DM application.
  • the cranberries are removed from the oven and the mixture (Maltodextrin & dried DM09) is sprayed on the dried cranberries (the mixture sprayed amount is equivalent to 10% added sugar-amount was calculated from the full sugar recipe).
  • the cranberries are put back into the oven for further drying for an additional 10-30 minutes at 70-120° C.
  • Peaches were peeled and the pits were removed out.
  • the peeled peaches were blended with citric acid to a smooth paste in a food processor.
  • DM09 was added to the homogenous blend.
  • the mixture was poured and smoothed into a thin uniform layer and dried in a dehydrator oven for 9-10 hours at 40° C., until it was dry.
  • the dried peach leather was taken out and cooled down. The leather was rolled and stored in an airtight container.
  • FIG. 26 demonstrates that dried cranberries (50% sugar reduction and DM09) are sweeter compared to dried cranberries (50% sugar reduction).
  • FIG. 27 demonstrates that peach leather with DM09 is sweeter than peach leather without DM09.
  • Formulations of green iced tea with DM protein is presented in Table 20.
  • green iced-tea with 40% added sugar reduction+DM09 and stevia is sweeter compared to green iced-tea with 40% added sugar reduction without stevia.
  • the aim of the digestibility study was to determine the fate of the DM protein, to be used as a sweetener, in the gastrointestinal tract following digestion.
  • the tested protein was the DM31 protein, produced by Precision Fermentation in Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) BL21 (DE3).
  • the digestibility cycles include Oral digestion (M), Gastric digestion (G) and Duodenal gut digestion (D).
  • the Digestion enzymes used Gastric pepsin (prepared in Simulated Gastric Fluids (SGF)—(2,000 U/ml SGF)), Digestion duodenal enzymes were prepared in Simulated Duodenal Fluids (SDF)—Trypsin (100 U/mL SDF), and chymotrypsin (25 U/mL SDF). Positive control was a known, fully digestible protein, ⁇ -lactalbumin. Negative control had no protein present.
  • Protein SDS gels protein samples at each digestibility phase were run on 16.5% SDS PAGE Tricine protein gels, stained using Coomassie blue.
  • Mass spectrometry peptides identification two repeats of each cycle, G and D, were analyzed by LC-MS/MS at the Smoller Proteomics Center, Technion using Q-Exactive plus (Thermo) and identified by Discover software against the sequence of DMs and host microorganism ( E - coli ) database.
  • the DM31 protein is partly digested at the end of the Gastric phase and fully digested at the end of the Duodenal phase.
  • the results obtained by the static model using the INFOGEST protocol clearly demonstrate the digestibility of the DM protein during the physiological digestibility process.

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